Red Betty IPA presents a pretty golden amber hue, capped with a crop of sticky, lacing, foam. As soon as the beer tumbles into the glass, the aroma bursts forth: big, resinous, pine-infused citrus, some tropical fruit, and herbal spiciness, all overlaying more than a little caramel malt. As it hits the palate, this Pacific Northwest-style IPA delivers plenty of citrus zest intensity bolstered by those pine and herbal spice notes. As it ...

After years of ever more extreme high-ABV beers hitting the market, brewers more recently have begun turning their attention towards lower-ABV “session beers” which can be enjoyed in greater volume without as much of the commensurate inebriation. Red Betty I.S.A. (India-style Session Ale) is absolutely among the better examples of this breed of low-ABV, but hugely flavorful, IPA-inspired session ales. Whether a “session IPA” is really any...

The so-called India Pale Lager style has become quite popular in recent years, and with beers like Brickway’s IPL on the market, it’s easy to see why. On the pour, this brew presents a rich amber color capped with lots of fluffy and persistent foam that laces the glass as it recedes. We found the aroma profile really attractive and inviting; look for big, rich caramel malt notes along with plenty of softly floral and citric hop...

This hefeweizen pours a rich golden color with a head of crisp white foam and plenty of unfiltered yeasty haze, as we expect for the style. We encounter a lot of American-made wheat beers which are really quite devoid of the proper Bavarian weissbier character, but with Brickway’s Hef we definitely pick up the characteristic phenolic clove notes and hints of banana, spice and lemony acidity we look for in the style. On the palate, this is a...

Golden-amber in color with bright, glass-lacing foam, Backyahd IPA offers up a pleasantly floral and fruity aroma. Look for some tangerine-like citrus notes amidst a bit of woody earthiness. This IPA hits the mouth with quite a fruity character upfront. Expect some citrus bolstered by a stone fruit quality, underpinned by a nice backbone of slightly toasty caramel malt. There’s a bit of residual sweetness leading to a honey-like impression ...

Raincloud presents an extremely dark, almost black, color on the pour, topped with a head of light brown foam that drops to a persistent collar. On the nose, the big roasty notes expected from a robust style of porter make themselves known straight away. Scorched coffee, pure cacao, and a touch of hazelnut can be found here, and as the beer warms in the glass we found additional notes of dried dark fruits lurking beneath, akin to raisin...

It’s almost like it’s gilded. The aromatics on this are just expansive: salty, citrusy, clenchingly tart, with just layers and layers of fruit-driven sourness, brine, and 100%-pleasant funk. This conjured memories of sharp bleu cheeses, tucked in there with honeyed cantaloupe notes, a pervasive sour-citrus core. The nooks in the aroma were endless. As this warms, that citrus, lemon-like approach further opens up to offer more underlying...

This pours a ruby brown with honeyed edges. A light-tan head caps things, leaving thick lace as it subsides. There’s light viscosity here—hinting at the hippo’s slightly more-rotund ABV. The aroma’s like peppery cola, with sweetening notes like cotton candy and brown sugar set beside yeast-driven bittering elements: clove, white pepper, maybe even a whiff of smoke. A nearly minty crispness pervades the nose: that sense of a soft, spicy...